Yongsan tteokbokki restaurant, fritters dipped in broth: Hyeonseonine

What kind of tteokbokki restaurant is Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch?

If you're into tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) in Yongsan, you've probably heard of Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch! Apparently Hyeonseonine started as a street cart back in 2004, and there's a reason it's lasted this long. Not one of those trendy cream or rosé style tteokbokki — this is the classic red sauce, glossy and coated, the taste you instantly picture from the old street carts. You know the one?

That day I ordered the Hyeonseon Combo Set, which lets you eat tteokbokki, sundae (blood sausage), fish cake, gimbap (seaweed rice roll), and fried food all at once.

Hyeonseonine started as a street cart in 2004 and now runs several directly operated branches. Maybe that's why, even eating in-store, it still gives off that childhood street-cart tteokbokki vibe~ They also serve instant tteokbokki alongside the regular version, and watching it get cooked at the next table, it looked amazing too. I had the combo set this time, so next visit I want to try the instant tteokbokki.

What comes in the Hyeonseon Combo Set?

What I ordered was the Hyeonseon Combo Set! It's not just tteokbokki — you get sundae, fish cake, gimbap, and fried food all together, basically everything you'd want at a bunsik (Korean street food) restaurant in one order. Perfect for someone like me who can never just order tteokbokki alone and always ends up adding extras 🤤 Seeing the whole table filled with a full bunsik spread just makes me happy looking at it .. ♥️

How spicy is the medium spice level at Hyeonseonine?

And now the most important part — the tteokbokki! Visually it was exactly my style right from the start. Each rice cake glossy with red sauce coated all over it, that old-school street cart tteokbokki look ㅠㅠ I went with medium spice! (Apparently the spicy version is really, really hot..!) Hyeonseonine's medium spice wasn't overwhelmingly spicy on any one note — just familiarly delicious. The kind of classic tteokbokki flavor anyone would picture right away when they take a bite! So personally I think this is a Yongsan tteokbokki spot that most people would like without much disagreement.

And when it gets spicy~? A slushie fixes everything, right?

Why Hyeonseonine works for a first Korean bunsik meal with friends from abroad

It occurred to me while eating that this would actually be a good place to bring a foreign friend to introduce them to Korean bunsik. Instead of just tteokbokki alone, ordering the combo set lets you experience tteokbokki, sundae, fish cake, gimbap, and fried food all in one sitting. Rather than some unusual fusion style, it's close to the familiar bunsik flavor I remember from growing up, so it seems like a good introduction for someone trying tteokbokki for the first time! Yongsan itself gets a lot of foreign visitors too, so I thought this would be a great spot to bring a friend from abroad next time they visit.

The sundae that came with the combo set was also great dipped lightly into the tteokbokki sauce. Add the warm fish cake and it really feels like a proper bunsik restaurant visit! Eating tteokbokki, then a bite of fish cake, then back to fried food, then some gimbap on the side — so much more fun than eating just one menu item. And everyone knows gimbap dipped lightly in tteokbokki broth is delicious too, haha. In the end I think I ended up dipping almost everything in the combo set into the tteokbokki broth at least once.

The pick of the day: fritters soaked in tteokbokki broth

I came for tteokbokki, but my unexpected favorite that day was the fried food!!! Seriously, why is the fried food here so good, haha. Crispy on the outside, generously filled inside — delicious even on its own. The fillings felt clean and fresh when I ate them, which I appreciated. I first tried dipping it in soy sauce — crispy and salty, plenty delicious on its own~~? But dipped deep into the tteokbokki broth ,, absolute perfection. The crispy fried food with that thick red tteokbokki sauce soaking in moist ㅠㅠ The outside coated in that spicy-sweet tteokbokki sauce while the inside stays a bit crispy — crispy outside, moist inside.. Personally, if you visit Hyeonseonine, I'd definitely recommend ordering the fried food alongside everything else.

Would I go back? Verdict and parking at Hyeonseonine

These days there are so many different styles of tteokbokki, but sometimes you just crave that familiar red sauce, glossy-coated tteokbokki you used to eat at street carts as a kid. Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch was exactly that feeling.

True to a place that started as a 2004 street cart, it had that familiar bunsik charm, and being able to try tteokbokki, sundae, fish cake, gimbap, and fried food all in one combo set made it even more satisfying. I was especially, unexpectedly, hooked on the fried food. Good dipped in soy sauce, good soaked in tteokbokki broth — I'll definitely be ordering fried food again next time! >< If you're craving classic bunsik in Yongsan, or looking for a Yongsan tteokbokki spot where you can enjoy several menu items at once, consider Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch! Next time I need to try that instant tteokbokki that kept catching my eye at the next table!

• 📍 Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch (2-13 Hangang-daero 39-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea)
• 🅿️ No parking available .. ㅜㅜ